This section is intended to provide information relevant to understanding various technologies described herein. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art that should in no way imply that it is prior art. Generally, related art may or may not be considered prior art. It should therefore be understood that any statement in this section should be read in this light, and not as any admission of prior art.
Integrated circuits include functional circuitry to perform processing functions along with interface circuitry (such as input/output (I/O) circuitry) for providing interfaces between functional circuitry and components external to the integrated circuit.
Integrated circuits are subject to electrostatic sources, and therefore it may be necessary to protect functional circuitry from electrostatic sources. Protection may be achieved by incorporating electrostatic protection circuits.